Gordie Lockbaum reflects on Heisman race

Jennifer Toland TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

Published Friday November 16, 2012 at 6:00 am

Updated Friday November 16, 2012 at 6:19 am

Gordie Lockbaum in 1987.

Gordie Lockbaum and his 1987 Holy Cross teammates got together earlier this fall to tailgate on the fringe of Fitton Field, share stories, and commemorate that wonderful undefeated season. There will be more reveling and reminiscing next May when Lockbaum and his HC class of 1988 gather for their milestone reunion.

So it's a juncture of silver jubilees for Lockbaum, but one he did not really consider until the recent 25-year anniversary of his third-place finish in the Heisman Trophy voting. A couple of weeks ago, Lockbaum received an invitation to attend a dinner gala in honor of Tim Brown, winner of the 1987 Heisman. The event will take place in New York two days after this year's Heisman is awarded.

“I got that phone call and certainly it triggered a lot of memories,” Lockbaum said. “It takes me back to my teammates and my coaches and the season itself, and then of course you get more nostalgic and thinking about family and my mom and dad so, yeah, a lot of memories do flood back.”

Lockbaum was the first non-Division 1 (now Football Bowl Subdivision) player to finish in the top five in the Heisman voting and he did it twice, coming in fifth as a junior in 1986. Lockbaum and his two-way exploits made for two of the most exciting and enthralling seasons in Holy Cross history.

He carried the ball, caught it, and even threw it. He picked off passes, wrapped up receivers, forced fumbles, returned punts, ran back kickoffs. One week against Dartmouth, he was scoring six touchdowns; the next, he was making 19 unassisted tackles against Army. His Holy Cross coach, Mark Duffner, called him “a triathlete in shoulder pads.”

Lockbaum began his HC career as a cornerback, and in the '86 preseason, Duffner decided to give him a look on offense as well. On Sept. 13, 1986, Lockbaum started at corner and tailback and became the first Holy Cross player in 23 years to play both offense and defense for a full game. He scored two touchdowns — one on offense, one on defense. The phenomenon took off from there.

With persistence and enthusiasm, former Holy Cross sports information director Gregg Burke helped spread word of this throwback wonder nationally. Before long, Lockbaum was on the front page of sports sections, inside Sports Illustrated, a guest on the “Today” show and ABC Sports' popular “College Football Scoreboard Show,” and under consideration for the Heisman Trophy.

“When Howard Cosell flies into your practice field on a helicopter — these things don't happen every day,” said Tom Kelleher, star fullback on the '87 team. “It was so unexpected and unique, people rallied around it and relished it. By having all of this attention, it was helping the program, helping the school, and it was a lot of fun.”

The media throng that descended upon Mount St. James wanted to know everything about the kid who went to Mass on Sundays, excelled in class Monday through Friday, and played 100 snaps on Saturdays.

All the information they really needed, longtime Holy Cross broadcaster Bob Fouracre said, could be found in one line of Lockbaum's 1987 HC football media guide profile.

“When they asked him what his favorite meal was, he said 'my mother's meatloaf,' ” Fouracre said. “That tells you where he comes from. That's Gordie Lockbaum.”

Lockbaum handled his newfound and sudden fame flawlessly.

“He took it as a responsibility to the football program and the school,” said Burke, who managed all the media requests so that they never became a burden for Lockbaum. His coaches embraced it and his teammates kept him in line with the requisite needling.

Not that Lockbaum really needed it. He grew up in Glassboro, N.J., the second oldest of seven, and Robert and Marie Lockbaum instilled humility and solidity in all of their children. Robert was a carding specialist for 35 years at Scott Paper Co. in Landisville, N.J., Marie was a homemaker. From this remarkable couple, Lockbaum learned life's lessons — among them, never to take anything for granted.

On Dec. 5, 1987 at the Heisman presentation, former T&G columnist John Gearan sat with Lockbaum's parents behind Lockbaum, who of course was in the front row. When it was announced Lockbaum had finished third, Gearan vividly recalled, Robert reached over and put his hand on his son's shoulder. Lockbaum reached up and put his hand on top of his dad's.

Nothing needed to be said.

“My dad was a strong guy and he was an awesome guy,” Lockbaum said of Robert, who passed away in 2000. “He had huge hands, but they were really soft and caring, which was a neat feature he had. One of the things I always felt from my family was being loved and protected and provided for. And that doesn't always mean with things, but with support.”

Entering the Downtown Athletic Club, where the Heisman Trophy was presented until the building closed after 9/11, was a thrill for Lockbaum — the first time in 1986 and again in '87. The history in its hallways, portraits of past winners, and opportunities to meet and talk with some of those men — “I remember being totally blown away by the whole experience,” Lockbaum said.

Miami quarterback Vinny Testaverde was the runaway winner in 1986, but the next year, maybe, anything was possible.

“I remember having that feeling, 'What if they read my name out?' ” Lockbaum said. “I didn't have a speech ready or anything like that, but I was so excited to be there again. You go through steps in sports — Little League, youth football, high school, college — and this was another step that culminated a career on a really positive note.”

HC whipped Villanova, 39-6, in the '87 season finale to cap a perfect season. The Crusaders united following the death of coach Rick Carter in early 1986 and, led by Duffner, went 10-1 in '86 and delivered one of the most dominant seasons, beating opponents by an average of 36.4 points.

Lockbaum finished the year with 13 rushing touchdowns, 1,152 receiving yards and nine TD receptions, averaged 19 yards on punt returns and 25.2 yards on kick returns, had 19 tackles and two sacks, and punted once for 36 yards.

Besides a 1987 HC team plaque, there is little evidence of Lockbaum's athletic accomplishments in his office at the Sullivan Group, a downtown insurance agency where he is vice president and has worked for 23 years. Instead, the walls and shelves are adorned with family photos, including one of Robert and Marie, and mementos.

Gordie and his wife, Denise, have three children — Gordie, who graduated from Amherst College in May and is teaching chemistry at Worcester Academy ; 15-year-old Olivia, a student at WA; and 8-year-old Luke, whose artwork is the prominent decoration in dad's office.

Young Gordie knows a little bit about his father's football fame, Olivia and Luke a lot less.

There are no trophies on display in the Lockbaums' Worcester home either, but sports do have an important place.

Lockbaum has coached his kids, who are all good athletes, in every sport, and this winter, as he begins his 12th year as the Worcester Academy wrestling coach, young Gordie will serve as his assistant.

A 2001 College Hall of Fame inductee, Lockbaum, who turns 47 today, followed the 17-year NFL career of Brown pretty closely — “He was a real quality guy,” Lockbaum said, “and such a good pro” — and is looking forward to catching up with him in December.

Lockbaum and Brown have a mutual friend, whom Lockbaum ran into a couple of years ago. The friend told Lockbaum he was recently at Brown's house and “he has something of yours.”

Lockbaum said, “He does?”

The friend was talking about the 1987 Heisman.

Twenty-five years have passed since that captivating season on the hill, but time has not diminished its magic.

“All the attention Gordie was getting from the Heisman did so much for our program,” Kelleher said. “Holy Cross was relevant, it was in the conversation. Even to this day, in business, when I mention Holy Cross, I get, 'Oh, Gordie Lockbaum.' It was a national phenomenon, not just something local.”